Paper Planes
by thePhonyOversized
Summary: Then I kiss her, and the sparks are even more magical than the fireworks all around us. I place my sombrero on her head and look into the same baby blue eyes that told me I loved her. Oneshot.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or any of the characters. Or, basically, anything licensed that I'm not supposed to own in this story, I clearly don't own. Thank you for your time._

*** For this story, Leo rebuilt Festus as a dragon. Post-Lost Hero.**

* * *

October 17, 2011 [7:24 pm]

"_Se__ñ__oritaaaa_ Thaliaaa!" I sing quietly, trying to practice for the big moment. I clear my throat and chug down another glass of water. I tap my fingers rapidly on my glass as I try to calm my nerves and remember the Apollo-inspired lyrics.

Holy Enchiladas. Was I really going to do this?

I grab the tiny car I built yesterday out of my pocket and I begin fiddling with it. I roll the wheels as fast as I can, and notice that one of them spins a bit more slowly than the others. I bring it in closer and spin it again, then see black specks near the screws. I blow it and regret it almost immediately.

"_¡Ay, caramba!_"

Pepper explodes from the wheels and I inhale all of it in shock. After choking, I sneeze and accidentally set the car on fire. I wipe my nose and extinguish the flames, seeing a few sparks escape it before it's just a burnt piece of metal sitting on my palm.

I sigh. I seriously should've washed that peppershaker before I used it.

"Leo, you okay?" Shane sits down beside me. "What'd you set on fire this time?" He laughs.

"That car I made yesterday." I sigh. "Where are the rest of my home dawgs?"

"Bunker 9. They can't get enough of it." Shane laughs. "I think Nyssa practically sleeps there."

Shane's eyes glance behind me. I turn around and see Will Solace grinning down at me.

_Órale__. _Here we go.

"Today's the big day," he teases, that slapstick grin he has on growing bigger.

"Shut up, Solace," I bark. "Just 'cause I didn't let you help me."

He laughs. "Nah, I got over that. You though – _are you ready_?"

"Psh." I wave my hand dismissively. "As ready as a churro is to be eaten at a fiesta," I croak, my voice cracking at the end.

"Well you sure sound like it," Will jokes.

"Shut up, Solace."

A hoard of students barges in through the doors and takes a seat on their designated table. My eyes find Thalia, gracing – yes, gracing – her way to the Zeus table, glancing over to the empty Artemis table before taking a seat. I keep my eyes on her until she finally looks my way, then I smile and wave to her awkwardly. She smiles back and shrugs her shoulders instead of waving, emphasizing the sling around her right arm.

"Get well soon?" I mouth to her.

She chuckles. "I hope so," she mouths back.

"So, Valdez, when's it gonna happen?" I turn around and find Nyssa sitting down at our table, grinning at me. Gods, how many people did I tell?

"When the time's right." I stick my tongue out.

She rolls her eyes.

"Dinner is served!" Chiron shouts, and all our plates are immediately filled with all kinds of food. When I see the mac 'n cheese sitting right in front of me, my life is compete.

Every camper scraps a bit of their food and heads to the front to burn their blessing.

"For Hephaestus," I whisper rapidly, before rushing back to my table. I glance towards the Zeus table and see Thalia sitting down once more. She pokes her fork into her roast beef, tries to lift it to eat, but it just slips off and back onto her plate. I laugh a bit before I turn back to my mac 'n cheese.

"You better hurry up, lover boy, before she gives up on eating that roast beef and leaves," Nyssa jokes.

I narrow my eyes at Nyssa. "Patience, young Nyssa," I say. "It's gonna happen. Just you wait."

"I've been waiting three months." She stuffs a spoonful of lasagna into her mouth.

"Just watch," I reply. I glance back at Thalia who was triumphantly chewing on her roast beef. I look around the Mess Hall, and everyone else seemed to be occupied with his or her own meals.

_Caray . . ._ I guess this is it.

I wink at Nyssa. She nods then she clears her plate from the table. The rest of my cabin follows. I clear my throat and take a remote from my tool belt. I throw it into the air, watch it flip, and then catch it again. I step onto the table and press the big red button at the bottom of the remote.

The lights begin to dim, except for one tiny spotlight illuminating the Hephaestus table. Everywhere I see campers turn from their meals to me. Thalia does the same, her mouth gaping.

I gulp and glance at Will Solace at the Apollo table. He gives me a thumbs-up.

So this is seriously it.

Hephaestus, save me.

"Tha – _ay_." I croak. I clear my throat.

"Leo, what're you –" I hear Chiron begin to say, but I cut him off.

"HEMHEMHEM," I start. I feel Nyssa hit my shin, signaling me to just go already.

"Thaliaaaa, oh, _Se__ñ__oritaaaa_, you are so cooliaaaaa," I sing at the top off my lungs. I press a white button slightly above the red one on my remote, and a ukulele falls from above. I catch it and begin strumming wildly, playing the only three chords I know – C, G and D.

All around me I see campers trying to hold in their laughter, a few choking on their drinks. I look at Thalia, and I see her left hand covering her face as she shakes her head – but I still see that HUGE grin she has on. Ha, she can't fool me.

I press a blue button right beside the white one, and a _sombrero_ falls from the ceiling and lands on my head. I tilt it and cockily grin at Thalia, quirking my eyebrows.

I see her laugh behind her hand.

"You burn me up, yeaaaaaaah!" I sing, trying to reach the high note at the end.

My whole cabin backs away in surprise as my glass shatters because of my awful tune. I arch my eyebrows and smile from ear to ear as the whole hall bursts into laughter. Even Thalia, whose eyes were wide in shock just a moment ago, was laughing – even if she was still . . . well, palming-her-face.

"Like fireworks in the skyyyyy!" I begin to sing again, my fingers hopelessly trying to follow my singing. The good news – my ukulele skills are just as good as my singing. The bad news – I'm not a very good singer.

"That's it," I hear Thalia shout as she stands up and walk towards me. She grabs my arm and yanks me off the table, and starts dragging me out.

"_Muchas gracias _everybody, thank you all for coming! Goodnight!" I manage to shout before Thalia slams the door behind us.

I look around us and it's freaking dark outside. What happened to all the lights?

I hear the noises my toolbelt makes as I walk around.

Oh. Right. My fault.

"Thalia?" I shout, flailing my arms around frantically. Hey, you can't blame me – I can't see anything.

After flailing a while longer, I feel her zap me.

"Ouch," I say as I rub my burnt arm. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot," she replies. I feel her hand reach into my tool belt and yank out the remote.

Almost immediately, lights start flickering on and off as the electricity returns to their designated appliances.

She hands the remote back to me.

"What would I do without you?" I say, looking at her smugly.

She slaps my arm playfully as she looks away, laughing. "I have no idea," she replies.

She looks me in the eye and smiles. "So, let's hear the rest of that song."

I smile at her and take a deep breathe.

_Thalia, oh, Se__ñ__orita, you are so coolia_

_You burn me up, yeah_

_Like fireworks in the sky_

October 14, 2011 [8:37 pm]

I kick another rock with my foot and watch it fall off the cliff. I place my hands in my pockets and look up at the sky. It's been, what, eight months since I first met Thalia? Three months since I saved her? And I still can't get over any of it.

I sit down on the ground, staying a safe distance away from the cliff – just in case I trip and fall off or something. I cross my legs into an Indian sit and lean back, so I can look back up at the sky.

"Something wrong, Hotshot?" Thalia sits down beside me, smirking. I see the sash of her sling draped around her shoulder, and I sigh. I lean in closer to her.

I feel her head lean on my shoulder. I snake my arm around her waist, careful not to move her injured arm, and I bring her in even closer.

"Nope, nothing's wrong."

On the contrary, everything feels right.

"This is . . ." she whispers almost inaudibly. "Uh, this feels . . . nice."

"I know," I say. "I wish we could stay this way forever."

And at that moment, I get a bright idea.

"_¡Híjole!_" I exclaim.

"What?" Thalia exclaims.

"Wait, get up," I tell her as I separate myself from her and jump to my feet.

"Huh?" she says, wearing a confused expression on her face as she struggles to stand up.

I reach out and bow down. "May I have this dance?"

She laughs. "Leo, what in Zeus' name are you doing?"

"Just take my hand and dance with me, _m__amacita_." I wink.

She shakes her head and slaps her hand in mine. I grip on to it and pull her closer, and then I start to dance maniacally with her – jumping around, and bouncing her uninjured hand up and down. She watches me curiously.

"You look like an idiot," she says, laughing.

"And I feel like a fool," I say. "But, hey, I'm the only one dancing with you, so I'm good." I grin.

She just stares at me, smiling, the moonlight dancing in her baby blue eyes.

That's when I knew I had to tell her.

That's when I knew I wanted her to be mine.

_You make me melt_

_Like a Popsicle in the Fourth of July_

July 11, 2011 [5:11 pm]

"Oh sweet Natillas!" I shout as Festus zooms through the sky. "Slow down, Fest, nobody's chasing us."

He roars and breathes out a tiny fireball, then starts spinning in the sky.

"Feeeeestuuuuuus!" I shout; my voice strained from the spinning and the dizziness that comes with it. "If I faaaaaall, no one will play feeeeeeeetch with youuuuuuu!"

He freezes midair, and before I know it, both of us are free falling.

"_¡Ay Dios mío!_" I shout. "FESTUS, USE YOUR WINGS!"

He spreads his wings out just before we were about to become Leo and Festus pancakes on the ground, and he spins once more before gently landing on the ground.

"You." I point at Festus, who gives me his signature 'I didn't do it, I'm innocent!' look. "Don't give me that look. You're _grounded_." I point at the ground and back at him. "No more flying for you!" I say, and then I remember that we're in the middle of some unknown forest with no way to get back except for Festus. " . . . Well, no more flying after we get back to Camp!"

He sighs and smoke emits from his nostrils.

"Yeah, who's laughing now?" I taunt him and laugh mockingly. I turn around and after taking _one_ step; I fall flat on my face. I hear Festus quietly snickering from behind me.

"Great," I say as I get up from the ground. "Did you do that?" I ask Festus accusingly.

He shakes his head and glances at something at my feet.

I look down and scream – like a _man_, not a girl.

I only calm down when I realize the dead body – which, turns out, isn't so dead after all – is Thalia. I bend down and look at her face. It's badly bruised and bloody. I lift her up and hear her really heavy and desperate breathing. I rest my head near her chest and listen to her weakening heartbeat.

_I have to get her back to camp._

"Fest, let's go," I say as I jump on Festus' back, securing myself, and more importantly, making sure Thalia was good to go. "I need you to fly as fast as you can back to camp – but, please, in the name of Hephaestus, fly _straight_." I tell Festus.

He nods and I swear I can hear him laugh a bit too, and then takes off.

I hear the wind whistle as we zoom through the sky. I look down at Thalia, who was as far from awake – heck, as far from alive – as she could get. Her hair was flying flimsily in the wind, and her skin was becoming a deathly white.

Man, was she _beautiful_.

I hold her as tight as I could as we flew, praying to Dad, to Zeus, and to every other god I could remember, until we reached campgrounds. Right when I feel Festus' feet touch the ground, I jump off his back and sprint to the Apollo cabin.

I kick the door open and run into the cabin, panting heavily. "Help," I manage to cry out breathlessly. I plop Thalia on the nearest bad and sit at the foot of it. I whisper, "Help," again.

I watch as the whole Apollo cabin rushes to her aid, using all these medicines I have no clue about, except for the ambrosia, which they were feeding her crumb-by-crumb.

One of the campers I forgot the name off, asks me to step out while they try to revive her.

Revive her. That didn't make her sound too good.

I follow and step out of the cabin. When they slam the door closed, I take a seat on the stairs and lean on the wall right next to the door. I am not going to move until I can come back in and see Thalia, unless someone lifts me up and drags me somewhere else, but even them I'm going up put up a fight.

Yes, I am going to be the 'Man Who Can't Be Moved'.

And I just wait there. I hear muffled screams coming from inside the cabin. What in Hephaestus' name is happening in there? I quietly try to turn the doorknob to take a peek inside, but right as I open it and see a bright golden light, the door is slammed closed and locked.

"Psh." I wave my hand dismissively. "It's their fault for not locking it in the first place."

My eyelids start to feel heavy, and I yawn. I force my eyes open, but they keep closing. I use my fingers and yank them open. I squirm a bit, and I realize that I can no longer feel my butt. Gods, how long have I been sitting here?

I lean closer to the walls of the Apollo cabin, and I hear nothing. Absolutely nothing. What's up with that?

_Clank._

I jerk my head to look at the door. Someone unlocked it.

I hear the creaking hinges as its slowly pulled open.

Will Solace, probably the only Apollo kid who I know the name of, steps out and looks at me. He signals me to come inside.

I struggle to stand up but obediently follow him inside. Everywhere, I see Apollo kids sitting down, panting heavily and chugging down glasses of water. Many of them were wiping their faces, and some had fallen asleep.

"Where –" I begin to say, when Will points to the bed nearest to the window, the only one separated by a thin divider. I see Thalia's silhouette sitting up on her bed.

"There," he says.

I walk over towards it.

"Knock, knock," I say, knocking one of the posts and almost causing it to lose its balance and topple over – _almost_.

She looks at me but doesn't look me in the eyes, and quirks her lip into what might've been a smile, if you got a magnifying glass and looked at it. Her lips were still a bit pale, but it was a lot rosier than it had been when I found her. The color was slowly returning to her cheeks, so I guess the blood's circulating now. But she didn't have that same glow she did when I first met her.

"Feeling better?" I ask her as I take a step closer to her bed.

She looks up at me and I see her eyes. They aren't the same shade of blue I was enraptured by. They weren't powerful and electric – they were a softer shade of blue, and it made me want to take care of her. I could see her forcing back tears as she looked at me and gave a smile another try, this time, a bit more successfully.

"Kind of," she replies. "I have to get back to the forest. The Hunters . . . they need me." She stares into my eyes as if she could see right into my soul, and the way she spoke, it was as if she was ordering me.

I could feel my lip quiver as I spoke, "No." That had to be one of the hardest things I've had to do in my entire life.

"What?" she says taken aback.

"No," I repeat. "You're not going back to that forest. I won't let you."

"Leo, _move_," she says, and I feel myself weaken as she says my name. But I'm putting my foot down. She might hate me after this, but it's for her own good. I won't let her back out there and this time, die for real. "I'm the _Lieutenant_, they need me."

I shake my head. "You're not going back out there. I won't let you die."

She opens her mouth to reply but I cut her off.

"You didn't see yourself when I found you. You were practically dead. You were so white I bet you glowed in the dark, and I was sure as hell your heart stopped pumping blood. You can't go back out there. You just can't."

She scrunches up her eyebrows. "It's my _duty_, Leo. I don't know if you understand that, but I took an oath when I first became a Hunter, and I intend to stand by that oath until I am in no position to call myself a Hunter anymore – and that is only if I fall in battle, since I'm not falling in love."

And – _that_, ladies and gentleman, hurt.

"That's why I have to get back there, Leo," she says. "Please," she pleads.

I freeze. Then I suddenly remember that I was putting my foot down and seriously can't let her do this to herself, and I shake my head furiously. "No, no, no. You _can't_. Thalia, you don't understand, do you? You were as good as dead –"

"But I'm not dead, or else you'd be talking to a ghost right now."

I clench my fists. "_¡Chale!_" I shout. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Because I don't break promises," she replies nonchalantly.

"Well, I don't break promises either. I promised myself I wouldn't let you get hurt like that again."

Thalia glares at me and I can see her becoming more and more aggravated, as I don't bend to her will. Her eyes glance at something beside me and she takes a deep breath.

I look and I just see a bucket filled with water.

What, is she thirsty or something?

"Give me your hand," she says.

I jump a bit in my seat from surprise. "_What?_" I exclaim.

"Just give me your hand." She smiles.

I scrunch my eyebrows and look at her curiously, but I obediently give her my hand. She grips onto my wrist and shocks me, then directs the flames that are suddenly emitted from my fingertips onto the bucket. She grins as she sees the water boiling up and steaming. She lunges forward and reaches into my tool belt, taking out a gold drachma.

"Thalia, what're you –" I say as I reach for the drachma, but it's too late.

She tosses it into the steam and shouts, "Lady Artemis!"

How could I have been so stupid? I didn't even know my flames could be worked that way! I feel so used.

When Artemis appears before us, Thalia smiles.

"My lady!" she shouts.

Artemis turns around and her eyes widen, and I feel like I'm staring right into a full moon.

"Thalia?" she exclaims. "But . . . how are you . . . this is impossible . . . Hades told me you were _dead_."

Thalia's smile instantly becomes a frown. "What?" she croaks.

"When you had ventured into the forest, all by yourself, I knew something would go wrong. I followed you, but I could not find you. I contacted Hades to see if I still had my Lieutenant, and the Fates had told him, had told _me_, that your string of life had been cut and you were gone."

Thalia's mouth was gaping, like she wanted to say something, but nothing would come out.

"As you know, a Hunter remains a Hunter for as long as she doesn't fall in love –"

"– Or fall in battle," Thalia continues.

"And Thalia, I'm afraid, you have fallen." Artemis' voice was cold, and her expression grim. Even when tears were falling down her eyes, she stood up straight and held her head high. "You can no longer be a Hunter."

"But my lady I'm alive –" Thalia argues.

"But you are not supposed to be," Artemis interrupts. "I do not know how you are still alive, but I suggest you enjoy this second chance you have been given. Though it pains me, this is for the best. The Fates have chosen a new destiny for you."

She purses her lips and takes a deep breath before continuing. "Thalia, you were a wonderful Lieutenant. I will never forget you, and you will always be honored in the Hunt. You have my blessing. Goodbye." And as Artemis waves her hand, she disappears.

"My lady – NO!" Thalia screams.

I stand up and walk closer to Thalia. "Um," I say awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

She looks at me, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Need a hug?" I grin and open my arms.

She glares at me, but I take her in my arms anyway. I feel her hold me tighter, and I listen to her spasmodic breathing as she weeps. She digs her head into my shirt as she screams out of her desperation. As she hangs on to me, I feel a few zaps from her frustration, and they hurt like hell, but it's all right, it's good pain.

_Oh Thalia, muy bonita_

September 7, 2011 [1:28 pm]

I fold one last side, and add the final creases to my masterpiece. I dash a messy smiley face on the final fold before stepping back and admiring my handicraft. I add a few more drops of glue to the barbecue sticks holding it all together, heat my hands up slightly, and wave them over my work twice.

"Finally! Done." I grin and wipe the sweat off my face with my sleeve.

A paper plane that resembled the first plane the Wright Brothers had designed sat on my desk – notes and drawings scribbled over almost every side of the paper.

"Now, to send it over . . . " I gingerly take the plane in my arms and slowly walk up the circular staircase leading up to the first floor.

"We should really build an elevator or something. I get freaking dizzy every time I go up and down this stupid staircase," I mumble to myself as I mount each step. "Bunk 1-A, please," I shout as I take my final step and jump onto the first floor. I feel the whole cabin rumble as my bunk shoots up from the ground. I set the plane carefully on the bed and turn around.

"Now, to find that gigantor fan."

I rummage through piles and piles of tools until I sit up and hit my head, hearing metal clang from the impact. I bend and slowly step away. When I feel it's safe, I stand up straight once more.

"Ha, there it is!" I grin as I grasp onto the neck of the giant metal electric fan and drag it across the cabin. I hear gears clink and smoke hiss, as the cabin door swings open. I set the fan about a foot away from our cabin before heading back in for the plane.

"And last but not the least, time to set the coordinates and let my baby take flight." I place the plane down beside me as I bend down behind the fan and start jamming in orders – wind direction, strength, turbulence levels, you know, that kinda stuff – before pressing the "ON" button. When I hear the blades in action, I take a small stool out of my tool belt, hold on to the plane once more, and balance on the stool. I slowly and carefully stretch my arms out, holding on to my plane tightly, until I feel the air shake my fingers. I let go of the plane and see it zoom across the sky.

"Success," I whisper to myself as I watch my plane glide through the sky.

As I begin to drag the fan and the stool back in my cabin, I hope to Hephaestus that it reaches Thalia in one piece.

I tried to fit everything I wanted to tell her into that paper plane, and Gods, it was barely enough. Every single time she made me smile, every joke I couldn't seem to get over, and even that time we both found it was Aphrodite that kept her alive that time I saved her.

"Love makes you do crazy things, she said," I mumble, mimicking her voice. I dump the fan in the nearest pile I could find. "That Aphrodite is one crazy lady." I chuckle as I shake my head. "Gods, I hope she didn't hear that." I look around the cabin, and sigh when I realize the coast is clear.

About a month ago, Thalia and I started to send each other notes using paper planes. It all began when I was near the lake, trying to avoid having to climb the Climbing Wall any more. I saw Thalia training right in the middle of the lake, and in an attempt to grab her attention, I grabbed a piece of paper out of my tool belt and folded the best paper plane I could make in ten seconds, then flew it over to her. It hit her electric spear before it reached her, but hey, it got her attention.

She looked at me like, "What the heck?" and went on training once again. Now, I didn't expect to hear from her that day . . . I didn't expect to hear from her _ever_, honestly, so I kept trying to get her attention by sending her more and more planes, each becoming more and more complex, with more words written on it. Then one day, while I was eating dinner, a plane flew by and poked my ear. I saw ink smudges all over the paper, and when I opened it, the words, "Fine. What's up?" was scrawled in the crumpled piece of paper.

After about two weeks of communicating with each other using nothing other than random notes written on paper planes, we finally talked – for real.

I was oiling Festus outside the Hephaestus cabin one day when she walked up to me, covered with all kinds of guck being the grease monkey I am, and asked if I could somehow find a way for her spear to conduct more electricity. I told her I'd try, and after that . . . we started talking about _everything_. And I have no idea how, but that conversation somehow ended with her riding on Festus' back and saying something like, "Hurry up, Mr. Spock, or the Enterprise is going to leave without you!" then both of them running off, leaving me to chase them for two hours before Festus' rusted thigh stopped him from moving around any more.

I sit on the floor of my cabin, trying to gather up blueprints off the floor, and trying to organize the piles and piles of, well, crap, lying around when I hear the _clank, clank, clank,_ of someone knocking on the door. I yank it open and see Thalia, holding my plane in her arms, and a tiny little paper plane on top of it.

She blows the tiny plane and it floats over to me. I barely catch it.

I open it up and the words, "I don't think I ever thanked you for saving my life," was dashed on the paper in messy blue ink.

"So thank you," she whispers, before turning around and walking away, my plane still in her arms.

_Will you please be mine?_

October 17, 2011 [7:27 pm]

I press another red button at the very top of the remote, and fireworks are all over the sky, painting it all kinds of colors. I see the colors blend in her eyes, and the smile that spreads on her face is priceless.

Then I kiss her, and the sparks are even more magical than the fireworks all around us. I smile against her lips, and I feel her do the same. When we pull away, I place my _sombrero_ on her head and look into the same baby blue eyes that told me I loved her.

"Thalia, will you be my girlfriend?"

* * *

**REVIEW!**

**Happy New Year Everyone!** 2011 is _finally_ here, and I still can't believe it! It's been 'last year' to me for so long, I couldn't get over it being 'next week', 'tomorrow', and now 'today'. It all feels so surreal! I hope you all had an amazing day and started the year right! :)

I wanted to celebrate the new year by writing this little (well, not exactly little, since it became a lot longer than I expected it to be) Thaleo (Thalia & Leo) oneshot/songfic based on the amaaazing song "Baby Blue Eyes" by A Rocket to the Moon. This story is supposed to be lighthearted, amusing and sweet :)

This is my first time writing for this pairing, and as Leo, but hopefully it all turned out well.

Also, the part with Artemis... yes, I apologize. (:

_From_ - **Schoe B. ...doobydoo.** ;)

* * *

* ¡Ay, caramba! : used to show surprise.

* ¡Ay Dios mío! : "Oh my God!"

* Caray : "Oh God!" "Oh shit!"

* ¡Chale! : "No way!"

* ¡Híjole! : "Holy smokes!"

* Muy Bonita : Very Pretty.

* Natillas : term used to refer to the different Spanish delicacies.

* Órale : "Cool!"

- some of these expressions are used sarcastically in the story.


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